Developers plan to use the Old Huntington Town Hall building at the corner of Main Street and Stewart Avenue in Huntington village in an 80-room hotel. Long islander news photo/Connor Beach

By Connor Beachcbeach@longislandergroup.com

New plans to turn the historic Old Town Hall building in Huntington village into a boutique hotel call for as many as 80 rooms up from 55 in previous renditions of the proposal.

The Huntington town board last month scheduled a public hearing in June to consider including in an existing Historic Building Overlay zoning district a parcel on land east of the Old Town Hall on the corner of Main Street and Stewart Avenue in Huntington village. The property was recently included in plans for the proposed hotel by Holtsville-based developer Huntington Village Hotel Partners.

The Historic Building Overlay District is designed to help preserve buildings of historic significance by giving owners of these properties the ability to use them in “purposes other than those permitted as-of-right in the zoning districts where such buildings are located,” according to town code.

Plans for the hotel were originally submitted to the town in 2013 by developer Emerson J. Dobbs through Huntington-based Old Town Hall Operating Co. Those plans were approved and called for the existing two-and-a-half-story structure to be preserved as the hotel’s lobby, lounge and meeting rooms. A 55-room guest wing was planned for the rear of the building.

The town approved Dobb’s plans, but he did not obtain a valid building permit in connection with the project before the imposed five-year deadline, according to town documents.

Seen from the back, the old town hall building is fenced while the developer’s plans advance. Long islander News photo/Connor Beach

Town documents show the new plans submitted by Huntington Village Hotel Partners, the company Dobbs is in talks with to sell the property, include the 1,742-square-foot property just east of the Old Town Hall building. The plans would require the demolition of the building next to the Old Town Hall that previously served as the town’s jail and police building.

Huntington Village Hotel Partners’ plan would still maintain the historic Town Hall building as the hotel’s lobby and common space. Parking for the hotel would be housed under the 80-room guest wing in the rear of the property.

Huntington Village Hotel Partners could not be reached for comment.

Huntington Supervisor Chad Lupinacci, who sponsored the resolution for the public hearing, said the proposed hotel would “bring renewed life to this historic landmark, preserving Huntington’s history and boosting our downtown economy.”

“Huntington village has always been a destination and the idea of a boutique hotel that pays homage to the building’s past life as the former Town Hall will achieve those goals while bringing the added convenience and comfort of an overnight stay,” Lupinacci said.

The public hearing to expand the Historic Building Overlay District is scheduled for 7 p.m., June 18 at town hall.